The Best Bubble Tea Places in Metro Atlanta (Part 2)

Welcome back y’all! So I’m officially back in the Atlanta area after moving back home after finishing my summer classes. I recently wrote about my favorite places to get bubble tea in Metro Atlanta and after running a poll on my Instagram, I decided to do a part two!

Below the jump is another list of bubble tea places in Metro Atlanta, with both pros and cons about each! Hope you enjoy!

1. Boba Theory

I happened upon Boba Theory by accident. I found myself in the Druid Hills area after looking around for a thrift store in the area. I’m driving by a group of buildings near the CDC when the words Boba catch my eye.

I immediately make a u-turn and head into bubble tea place located in a very fancy and above my pay grade apartment complex. The place has three screens that greet you right when you walk in. The left and the right are the menu while the one in the middle is playing Spotify.

There’s hot and iced tea, as well as smoothies and slushies. What I also liked about this place is that there’s coffee too! Like…frappes, cappuccinos, you name it! This bubble tea place is located near Emory University, so I’m sure that’s why they offer coffee as well.

I order their signature theory bubble tea iced with regular sweet and light ice and about five minutes later, my drink is out. They had over 15 flavors to choose from which is definitely a pro.

I only had a handful of cons for this place. It was pretty dark inside. The decor was nothing special and I really wish the inside was better lit. Outside the backgrounds and places to sit were gorgeous!

Another con to this place is that you have to park in a parking garage which is a bit of a distance away from the actual place. Don’t worry though, you can get your parking validated if you bring in your ticket!

Unlike other establishments around the area, you can only enter from the very front and while your GPS might say that you have arrived, you kinda have to wander around until you get to the front.

Since this is near a college campus, I’m not sure how busy it’ll get as the fall approaches. When I visited, there was no line. Overall, Boba Theory is totally worth the visit!

This review is only for the Boba Theory location near Emory. They have another location in Morrow!

PROS: Lots of flavors, options if you don’t want bubble tea, large size is LARGE

CONS: Have to park in parking garage, confusing to find at first, dimly-lit

ADDRESSES: 1585 Lake Harbin Rd, Morrow, GA 30260 and 1540 Avenue Pl B-250, Atlanta, GA 30329 (Emory location)

2. TBaar

So TBaar is a bit unique. It’s located inside of Cumberland Mall inside of the food court. The first time I went there it was relatively new, so I decided to skip it until they were more established.

Flash forward to my second visit and I order a simple milk tea. You can’t customize anything other than the ice level and if you want boba or not. I get a large and wait.

It takes a minute as there’s one person working and making the drinks while another is ringing them up. Soon enough I do get my drink and sip on while walking around the mall, trying to avoid people I went to high school with.

TBaar…is nothing to write home about. For most who like the novelty of bubble tea but don’t feel like driving very far to get it, this will do. They have an insane amount of milk based and fruit based drinks, as well as smoothies and lemonades. As I was waiting for my own drink, I actually noticed that more people got their smoothies and slushies than their bubble teas.

Their boba is not sweet or chewy enough for my liking. It’s always warm every time I’ve ordered it and barely sweet, if it’s sweet at all. If you don’t like to chew a lot or an alright sweetness to your drink, TBaar will do it for you.

…okay. I know what you’re thinking. “Tandra, why is this on the list? You’re literally dragging them, girl.”

Well, despite TBaar ranking rather low on my personal list, I know the insane amount of flavors and convenience for many will make up for it. I believe that TBaar as a company specializes more on fruit-based drinks, so I believe those will likely taste better. As a milk tea fan though, I only grab a drink here if I’m too lazy to drive another 10-20 minutes for my favorite places.

PROS: In a mall so you can drink and shop without additional driving, prices are on the cheap side for bubble tea

CONS: Boba and milk tea not very sweet, service can be slow at times

ADDRESS: 2860 Cumberland Mall, Atlanta, GA 30339 (In food court)

3. Gong Cha

This place can be a bit hard to find at first. It’s in Sandy Springs on Roswell Road, but unless you’re looking for it, you can accidentally drive right by it! Gong Cha is located in the same building as Kremo Ice Cream, a rolled ice cream shop.

Parking is a bit tricky, as is any place in the city, but well worth it. They have milk teas, coffee, smoothies, you name it! What I think makes this place special (and my current favorite place to get bubble tea) is the interior. There’s a large table near a large window that lets in a lot of light. It’s the perfect set up to play games at, which the store has plenty of.

There’s also tables and chairs around the store to relax in instead. What really sets this bubble tea place apart from others I have reviewed is that they actually bring the drink to you! No matter where you’re sitting or standing, once your drink is done, the workers come around and give it to you.

I almost always tip when I go to a bubble tea place and every time they do this, I feel compelled to tip again, haha! Not sure if this is common place in other bubble tea stores, but at least out of all of the ones I have gone to, Gong Cha is the only one that brings your drink to you.

They have other locations, but I’ve only been to the Gong Cha in Sandy Springs. My only con for this place is the parking struggle. The spaces are small and it’s sort of a hard place to get out of, but I’ll go over miles of potholes just to go to them!

PROS: Very friendly service staff (did I mention that they bring your drink to you?), interior clean, bright and friendly

CONS: Parking, can be difficult to find at first and you might accidentally drive by it

ADDRESSES: 4406 Ashford Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta, GA 30346 (Inside of Perimeter Mall), 1630 Pleasant Hill Rd #180, Duluth, GA 30096, 6135 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, GA 30328

 

Bubble tea is my brand, not going to lie. I love finding new places to get bubble tea and honestly, I haven’t even been to half of the places that Metro Atlanta has to offer! If there is a bubble tea place you would like me to explore, shoot me a message or comment on my Instagram or Twitter!

 

What’s your favorite bubble tea drink? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Until next time,